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Little Lek Longtail Learns to Sleep
“I can't sleep, mommy, I'm scared.” Humanmoms and dads have heard it many times before, and so too, it turns out, hasLittle Lek's mother. Her little Thai Argus pheasant was so gentle, kind, andhandsome with his exceptionally long and brightly colored tail. But he had justone he couldn't get to sleep. Then one day something changed, andLittle Lek discovered a strength that lay hidden within, something that gavehim the peace of mind to sleep soundly through the night. Find out the secretof how Little Lek learned to trust in himself! Readers will delight inBeatriz Vidal's vivid and expressive art. An appendix of fascinating factsabout the Thai Argus pheasant makes this book an educational experience as well.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2016
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 8, 2021
Little Lek Longtail
Little Lek Longtail was an argus pheasant, a bird with a long colorful tail, who lived in the forests of Thailand ages ago. His story is told in "Little Lek Longtail Learns to Sleep", a new book intended for children four and up by Bette Killion with illustrations by Beatriz Vidal. The book was a finalist in the "Childrens Book, Hardcover Fiction" category for the "USA Best Books 2016 Award" sponsored by USA book news.
In a laudatory review, Kirkus Reviews aptly described this story as "combining elements of the traditional folk tale and an Aesop's fable." Little Lek Longtail is beloved by the other jungle creatures for his sweet, good nature and his beautiful plumage. The little bird has difficulty sleeping because he fears that an enemy will climb the tree, grab his tail, and turn him into a late night snack. As he goes about life in the jungle, he learns that every creature, including human beings, has skills and resources which they learn to use to stay out of harm's way. Little Lek Longtail learns to turn his long, sensitive, beautiful tail into an asset to warn him of the approach of predators.
This little story will teach youngsters in a fun way about self-reliance, kindness, and nature. The book's illustrations capture the color, foliage and variety of life in a southeast Asia jungle including elephants, parakeets, kingfishers, broadbills, fearsome tigers, and crocodiles. The atmosphere is exotic Kirkus Reviews noted that "Vidal’s vivid and vibrant art shines. She deliberately omits white space, packing a profusion of color, details, and textures across the pages to re-create the dense, diverse jungles of Southeast Asia." A short appendix to the story provides information about the argus pheasant -- a truly unusual bird that will be new to many adults as well as children.
The book is published by Wisdom Tales, a publishing house for childrens' literature with the aim of "sharing the wisdom and beauty of cultures from around the world." The book amply fulfills this worthy aim. Wisdom Tales kindly sent me a review copy of "Little Lek Longtail Learns to Sleep."
Robin Friedman
.
Little Lek Longtail was an argus pheasant, a bird with a long colorful tail, who lived in the forests of Thailand ages ago. His story is told in "Little Lek Longtail Learns to Sleep", a new book intended for children four and up by Bette Killion with illustrations by Beatriz Vidal. The book was a finalist in the "Childrens Book, Hardcover Fiction" category for the "USA Best Books 2016 Award" sponsored by USA book news.
In a laudatory review, Kirkus Reviews aptly described this story as "combining elements of the traditional folk tale and an Aesop's fable." Little Lek Longtail is beloved by the other jungle creatures for his sweet, good nature and his beautiful plumage. The little bird has difficulty sleeping because he fears that an enemy will climb the tree, grab his tail, and turn him into a late night snack. As he goes about life in the jungle, he learns that every creature, including human beings, has skills and resources which they learn to use to stay out of harm's way. Little Lek Longtail learns to turn his long, sensitive, beautiful tail into an asset to warn him of the approach of predators.
This little story will teach youngsters in a fun way about self-reliance, kindness, and nature. The book's illustrations capture the color, foliage and variety of life in a southeast Asia jungle including elephants, parakeets, kingfishers, broadbills, fearsome tigers, and crocodiles. The atmosphere is exotic Kirkus Reviews noted that "Vidal’s vivid and vibrant art shines. She deliberately omits white space, packing a profusion of color, details, and textures across the pages to re-create the dense, diverse jungles of Southeast Asia." A short appendix to the story provides information about the argus pheasant -- a truly unusual bird that will be new to many adults as well as children.
The book is published by Wisdom Tales, a publishing house for childrens' literature with the aim of "sharing the wisdom and beauty of cultures from around the world." The book amply fulfills this worthy aim. Wisdom Tales kindly sent me a review copy of "Little Lek Longtail Learns to Sleep."
Robin Friedman
.
December 10, 2016
Lek Longtail is a Thai Argus pheasant with a beautiful tail, and author Bette Killion has written a beautiful tale about him, gorgeously illustrated by Beatrtiz Vidal. Wisdom is nicely understated in the text, and the images hide secret characters too, perfectly matching Lek’s fears—will a tiger find him at night when he sleeps; or a panther; how will he survive? Lek’s mother tries to comfort him, but sometimes a child, or an Argus pheasant, has to work things out for himself. In this story, Lek watches, learns, and thinks, then provides his own solution.
There’s something very satisfying in reading about a bird that learns from a man. Perhaps we aren’t the enemy of nature after all. Perhaps we, like Lek, can be proud and still kind to our world. And perhaps, like Lek, we can find our own solutions to our problems. At least, the children reading this book might be inspired to try.
Lek Longtail is a gorgeous book with an appealing storyline, thought-provoking concepts, fascinating details, and a very cool appendix of well-presented facts that will help it grow with the child.
Disclosure: I was given a copy by the publisher and I offer my honest review.
There’s something very satisfying in reading about a bird that learns from a man. Perhaps we aren’t the enemy of nature after all. Perhaps we, like Lek, can be proud and still kind to our world. And perhaps, like Lek, we can find our own solutions to our problems. At least, the children reading this book might be inspired to try.
Lek Longtail is a gorgeous book with an appealing storyline, thought-provoking concepts, fascinating details, and a very cool appendix of well-presented facts that will help it grow with the child.
Disclosure: I was given a copy by the publisher and I offer my honest review.
February 22, 2017
This fable takes the idea that little ones (our very own children) are afraid to go to sleep or afraid of the dark. The colorful Thai Argus pheasant is the little one that can't sleep in this story and he is afraid of things in the darkness. One of them being that something will eat him - tigers or panthers - if he goes to sleep and isn't alarmed in time to get away from them.
Little Lek Longtail has an exceptionally long and beautifully colored tail and this proves to be a source of not only pride but provides him with a coping skill as well. Bette Killion allows Little Lek to have a longer and more colorful tail than the real Thai Argus pheasant, but the real bird does have a rather spectacular tail and he does perch in trees as Little Lek does. Ms. Killion has aptly provided a bedtime story that will surely help children of the world learn to cope with their fear of the dark while learning about an unusual bird that lives amongst the dense foliage of the Thai rainforest.
The Thai Argus pheasant is a bird native to Thailand which is tropical. The illustrations are lush greens as one would expect the foliage to be in a tropical land. And Little Lek's feathers are bright and colorful. Beatriz Vidal allows the lush illustrations to flow uninterrupted by words and white space allowing the text its own space keeping the illustrations intact.
At the back of the book the author provides facts about the Argus pheasant that are very interesting and will provide a nice teaching opportunity.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review of my personal opinions. I was not compensated.
Little Lek Longtail has an exceptionally long and beautifully colored tail and this proves to be a source of not only pride but provides him with a coping skill as well. Bette Killion allows Little Lek to have a longer and more colorful tail than the real Thai Argus pheasant, but the real bird does have a rather spectacular tail and he does perch in trees as Little Lek does. Ms. Killion has aptly provided a bedtime story that will surely help children of the world learn to cope with their fear of the dark while learning about an unusual bird that lives amongst the dense foliage of the Thai rainforest.
The Thai Argus pheasant is a bird native to Thailand which is tropical. The illustrations are lush greens as one would expect the foliage to be in a tropical land. And Little Lek's feathers are bright and colorful. Beatriz Vidal allows the lush illustrations to flow uninterrupted by words and white space allowing the text its own space keeping the illustrations intact.
At the back of the book the author provides facts about the Argus pheasant that are very interesting and will provide a nice teaching opportunity.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review of my personal opinions. I was not compensated.
January 7, 2017
Well-written fable about overcoming fears.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews